It is a little dramatic to say that this gadget has changed my life - but it has definitely brought a lot of enthusiasm back into my cooking. I do a lot of the prep for dinner the night before or on the weekend. On the day I need to make dinner, I put it all together, set the delay timer and head off to work. By the time I get home I have an incredible hot dinner.

I'm new to slow cooking - I'm still working out recipes that work well in this cooker. My favorite so far is kheema mutter (minced meat with peas). I've tried some stews that have turned out well too. The browning feature is awesome since you can do all the prep in this single pot.

I've used pressure cookers since I learnt how to cook (its a standard feature in most Indian homes) - the kind you put on the stove. This one feels much safer, there is no chance of random splattering due too much water and the delay timer helps a lot.

This is a gadget that I think works very well for Indian cooking. There are other similar gadgets out there, so choose what works for you. What sold me on this one was the stainless steel insert. Its a breeze to clean and stainless steel is a lot healthier to cook in than non-stick coated bowls.

Let me know if you've used it and what you think of it or if there are other options that work just as well or better.

01/27/2011

Its been about a while since I put together the new bed and its fantastic ! I started off doing this for my husband, but its the best gift I could give myself. I've always had trouble falling asleep and this bed just envelopes me in its warmth and softness and off I wander into dream land. The only negative is that its really difficult to wake up :).

I've always preferred firmer beds and I was very skeptical the first night because I found the bed just too soft. I was sure I would wake up with all sorts of aches and pains. No such thing !

So here is my feedback on the products I bought -

* Memory foam mattress topper - Definitely worth the 170 $ I spent on it. This was the best addition to the bed !

* Queen bed sheet sets - This time I went with more expensive 500 thread count sheets. To be honest, I can't really make out the difference between the 250 thread count cotton sateen sheets I had earlier. I'm not really sure its worth the extra money I spent on them.

* Contour pillows - These are the only pillows we use now. Money well spent.

* Down / feather pillows - We use these as decorative pillows. With the contour pillows, you just use them on your neck. So if you have pillows that are fluffy enough - I wouldn't bother with buying new pillows.

* Blanket, comforter and duvet cover - I really enjoy the layers on the bed. The comforter is ready on the foot of the bed, so on those chillier nights we can just pull it over the blanket for added warmth.

If you aren't getting a comfortable nights sleep, I would strongly recommend your very own bed makeover. You do spend 1/3 of your life sleeping so it is time and money spent well - yikes I sound likes a mattress salesperson now !

12/15/2010

I started doing my research and there is a lot more to a hotel bed than meets the eye. The number of layers is astounding !

A typical hotel bed has the following - a box spring, a mattress, a feather mattress pad, a bed skirt, a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, a blanket, another flat sheet, a comforter, a duvet cover, 4 pillows and a decorative pillow !

This was my shopping list

Mattress topper - The 2 options for mattress toppers are a feather mattress topper or a memory foam topper. A friend of ours who has back issues gave memory foam rave reviews. We wanted to try out a memory foam mattress, but our old mattress was still in decent condition. Using a memory foam mattress topper was the perfect way to see whether we like it at all. After reading tons of reviews, I went with the Serta mattress topper. Its 4 inches thick and supposed to be very close to sleeping on a memory foam mattress.

Queen bed sheet sets - I bought 3 cotton sateen bed sheet sets - which will allow me to change sheets often without being forced to do a load of laundry. I got an off-white set from Homegoods, a gray one from Target and a terracotta/paprika sheet set from Overstock. All 3 colors should work well in my room. All the sheet sets are 400 thread count or more and I paid around 40 $ per set. I decided to use only one flat sheet and pass on the extra flat sheet used in hotels. One less thing to straighten in the morning.

Blanket - I prefer using a light blanket to a heavy comforter. Since I have allergies, down alternative was the perfect choice. The Bone alternative down blanket was the perfect color and the right price.

Down Alternate All Season Comforter. I decided to get a comforter for the cooler nights. Also having a comforter allows me to change the look of the room by changing the duvet covers.

Printed Duvet cover. This was the perfect color combination and the 20 % off coupon made it even more attractive.

A pair of down and feather pillows from Homegoods = 24 $

Pair of Contour pillows. Highly recommended by a friend. This should help prevent neck pain that I occasionally suffer from.

This added up to quite a bit, around 400 $ but only because we splurged on the mattress topper. I am waiting for everything to arrive and then I put it all together. Can't wait !

12/06/2010

My husband was out of town a couple of weeks ago. The first night he returned and slept in our bed, he turned to me and asked me rather seriously "why can't we have a bed like a 5-star hotel - it felt so great to sleep in it". I looked at our bed and realized it was time for a makeover. We had on our bed what used to be good cotton sateen sheets but have seen enough cycles of washing that they have lost their sheen. The mattress is good and firm and supportive but is very cold when you get in. The 2 pillows on our bed are somewhat flat.

All in all, I don't mind our bed but I do love a challenge and could use a change. I needed a little more motivation and I had a wonderful idea. My husband always wakes up after me - usually when I've left for work. I can never get him to make the bed. A few months after being married, I just gave up - it wasn't worth the bickering.

So this is the deal we struck, I will redo the bed completely, make it extremely luxurious, inviting and comfortable. In exchange, he will make the bed everyday. I think its a pretty good deal and its all the motivation I need to get into this project full swing.

The research has begun. If you have any suggestions or ideas - I would love to hear them !

11/29/2010

This was the first year that we hosted a traditional thanksgiving dinner at our house. I've only been in the US for 5 years and a lot of these traditions are still alien to me. One of my friends was enthusiastic enough to make the turkey, so we decided to do a pot-luck. I was in charge of the pies and the mashed potatoes.

Cooking was the easy part, my real challenge was to find a way to seat 12 adults and a couple of kids for dinner. We've hosted parties with a lot more people but it has always been a buffet-style dinner. I wanted to have a sit down dinner to make it really feel special. The only way I could make this happen was by moving my dining table to my living room which meant a significant amount of furniture moving. The second table would be my patio table. Moving furniture was difficult but I think the hardest part was convincing my husband that this was really a good idea. :)

It was work but everyone had a wonderful time and I would like to think that the table had something to do with it. One of our friends gave a wonderful toast speech and the food was delicious. The evening was everything I had hoped for and more.

"I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends!"Quote by Nancie J. Carmody. I couldn't say it better myself.

10/31/2010

I make it a point to buy something pretty for my home on every vacation. Very often that turns out to be a painting or print to remind me of the beautiful places I visited. You don't have to restrict yourself to framing just traditional "art" pieces. I have framed everything from t-shirts, cushion covers and fabric to calendar pages and craft paper.

I always knew custom framing was expensive, so my stash of things to frame kept growing. When I received a "50 % off your custom framing order" coupon from a store that was known to be more affordable than Micheals and Aaron brothers I was excited. I thought it was finally time to get my loot out from the closet and on their rightful place on my walls. Armed with my coupon and visions of the perfect frames and mats to showcase my art I drove to the store. When I got the quotation for the order my jaw almost hit the ground. They were charging me an average of 120 $ per frame after the discount. This was 3 or 4 times the cost of the pieces I wanted to frame. There had to be a better way and I was going to find it.

I drove from there to Micheals. As I walked through the aisles, I realized that I could easily find frames to match each of the pictures. The issue was the mats. The pre-cut mats were in standard sizes that wouldn't work for me. The cost of getting custom-mats cut was also quite high about 30 $ per piece. As I browsed through the store, the Logan Compact Mat cutter caught my eye. I came back home and did my research. The mat cutter is easy to use and the finish is really good. I bought a few mat sheets and got started. A little bit of practice and I was on a roll. Here is one of my projects to frame a charcoal painting my aunt gifted me.

Cutting your own mats and framing art yourself has so many advantages -

Very affordable - so you can frame as many things as you want. The average cost of a frame is 15-20 $. A single sheet of mat is 15 $ which will get you through several (5-6) framing projects.

You may find frames that are nicer and with more detail than the custom frame options. Ikea, Walmart, Micheals and Aaron borthers have quite a wide collection of frames.

If you are like me and get bored and want to change things out often, using store bought frames gives you the flexibility to reuse your old frames.

Tips for framing - Pick frames that are big enough to allow at least a 2" mat on each side of the art piece. A white, off-white or black mat should be enough to get you through most framing projects. If the border is wide enough, it is possible to put a square picture in a rectangular frame or vice versa. One tip is to buy lots of spare blades when buying the logan mat cutter - as the blades get blunt quite quickly.

I found this video very helpful to get me started with cutting my own mats.

10/10/2010

The inspiration for my dining room came from this painting I bought in India. There is something so haunting about it and yet it depicts such tenderness. The entire painting looks like crushed paper that has been opened up - which gives it a very nice texture. The blue is gorgeous and I like the touch of warmth the orange / brown gives the painting. I knew I had to showcase this piece of art and make it the focal point of my room. Given the scale of all the rooms, the natural choice was my dining room.

When people say interior decor is a lot of trial and error, they don't lie. Case and point - the wall on which this painting is hung. I tried several different colors. Silver - but it distracted from the painting, shades of blue - but they all made the painting blend in, dark grey made the room looked like a cave and then I finally found the perfect color - this light blue-grey. It was a nice muted color and let the painting shine. So don't lose heart if you find that a color that you thought would be perfect in the store looks ghastly in your home. Just take a deep breath and find solace in the fact that everyone does this.

The starburst mirror was a real find in the clearance racks of Pier1 imports. It was the perfect piece to anchor my dining table without competing with the painting. The whirly candle holders hanging in the corner are from CB2. When I put votive candles in them, they create a nice warm glow and really add to the ambience of the room.

Storage space is at a premium in this tiny dining room. So I decided to use things that I would otherwise have to store in the buffet or bar as accessories.

Notice the repetition and rhythm the colors create. The blue stripes in the runner speak to the blue in the vase. The green in the candle sticks works well with the green from the leaves. The red accents are scattered all over the room - from the runner on the buffet to the mat on the bar and the cushions on the bench. Paying attention to these details is what makes a room cohesive.

08/16/2010

I wanted this space to be vibrant, young and hip like a city loft and still be warm and inviting. Most of the walls in my house have subtle muted shades and this was my space to really go wild and throw in some color. The large window brings in a lot of light which allowed me to pick a color like orange with confidence. The orange walls and white furniture and accessories really look great against the dark tiles I have on the floor. This space is an extension of my kitchen so the they needed to complement each other well.

Photo Wall

A photo wall is a great way to showcase pictures in one space without cluttering the entire room with photo frames

Picking the frames - Use frames of various sizes to create a more interesting look. I wanted a modern clean look and the Ikea clips frames were perfect because not only did they have the minimalistic sleek look, they were very affordable.

Mats - Now that I had frames in all these different non-standard sizes, I needed mats. Off-the-shelf mats didn't fit in the odd shaped frames (It is annoying but Ikea will not do a 11" X 14" frame, they will have 11.75 X 15!). Custom cut mats were around $15 to $20 a piece. I did some research and found that cutting your own mats is not that difficult if you have the right tools. I got the Logan Compact cutter which has already paid for itself in one project- Logan Compact Mat Cutter. I got mat boards from Michaels. The large sheets cost 15 $ each and I could do the entire wall using about 1 and a quarter sheet. I went with crisp white because I knew it would really pop against my darker walls.

Arranging the frames - Measure the wall and mark off an area on the floor with masking tape. Layout your frames on the floor in the marked area - take note of features on the wall like light switches or taller accessories that you shouldn't cover with frames. When designing the layout, keep the following in mind -

Balance - Ensure that your display is not too heavy on either side. Start with one of the larger frames on the upper left corner. To balance that frame, put a frame of a similar size on the right bottom corner. Then start filling in the spaces in between with smaller frames. Use this just as a guideline, and if something doesn't look right adjust it till you get a display that works for you. The eye is naturally drawn to the picture in the center of your display, so put one that you really like in that spot.

Spacing - Ideally, one should have about the same spacing between various frames. I didn't actually measure the spacing, and just eyeballed it. However, if you are very particular, measure them. In a layout like this, the average spacing between frames should be 2 to 3 inches. This allows enough wall to show between the frames and yet makes it seem like one single display. However, you will see that in spots, the spacing varied quite a bit to fit in the odd shapes.

Hanging the frames on the wall - You could cut out papers in the sizes of your various frames and tape them on the wall. Once you're happy with the arrangement, hammer the picture hangers or nails in the wall and you're ready to hang. I personally don't have the patience to cut out the paper for this. I started with the frame on the left, put it up, then put up the next frame with the required spacing.

Add details - Photos really tell a story, so include details that you think will make the display more interesting. My display contains my favorite photos over the last 20 years, so I included the date and place. A comment or description for each would also be a nice touch. The really difficult part of this process is picking the photos. Be patient going through the various years of photos till you find the right mix - it really pays off. Alternately, organize a photo shoot to capture photos in a theme.

Book shelves

As my recipe book collection was growing, I knew I wanted to get them off the table on the wall. These brilliant conceal book shelves are from The container store. You cannot see the shelf or hardware at all, so these give the illusion of the books floating on the wall. At 12 $ a shelf, the price really couldn't be better.

Accessories and Window Treatments

I decided to use few accessories with big impact like the marble kung fu sculptures from All world furniture . The mortar-pestle and Mojave were the right colors and made sense since this space is just off my kitchen. The window treatments are from a store called Fab India in Mumbai. I have seen similar drapes in World Market.

Furniture

I fell in love with this CB2 bar table. However, it was too large for my space and would also shoot my budget out the window. Ikea came to my rescue again. I could find a nice sleek table at one tenth of the cost of the CB2 one.

Budget

I have done this space up over a period of time, so some of these prices are approximate.

Photo frames - 70 $

Mat cutter - 50 $

Mat boards - 20 $

Printing photos - 30 $

Book shelves - 35 $

Bar table - 55 $

Bar stools - 100 $

Accessories and window treatments - 60 $

Total cost less than 500 $.

Summary

If you like displaying photos, consider a photo wall rather than a lot of individual photo frames.

For a vibrant space, pay attention to contrast. Consider the color of the floor, the walls, furniture and accessories. If you have dark walls, no color pops like white.

If you see something you like in an expensive store, keep it in mind and you might be able to recreate something better or as nice on a lower budget.

Functionality of a space is the most important thing to keep in mind especially in the heart of your home like your kitchen and family room. I did not like how my recipe books were taking over the entire cabinet. A solution like the invisible shelves were perfect as the books are within easy reach and look great too. Utility kitchen tools can be used as accessories too !

You can really transform a space without spending too much money. See my before after pictures of this space.

08/10/2010

In this living room, we wanted to have a calming, relaxing loungey feel. I was inspired by the room shown in the song Yeh Mera Dil from Don ! You can find inspiration in the strangest things, so always be on the lookout !

Art Feature

My first purchase for the room was the carved Buddha wall hanging from India (Tresorie, Mumbai). I knew this would be the focal point in the room but it was too small for the scale of the room. Figuring out how to get this to work was the most difficult part for me. I knew I had to make it part of a bigger wall feature. I could hardly contain myself when I found the Buddha silhouette on clearance at Pier 1 imports.. it was perfect ! Then came the filler pieces, the squares in the corner are placemats from Pier 1! Next step was getting the art up on the wall. It looked great, but I still felt that the art didn't have the impact due to the 14 ft high ceiling. That's when I decided to paint the stripe. Getting that color right was another story. It had to be a subtle shade - just to highlight the art, so I tried a tone on tone beige - it had no impact. It needed more punch, so I went with gold - too shiny ! The end solution was to put white glaze on the gold paint to make it more matte.

I was window shopping and I saw the large Buddha painting at Z Gallerie. It was love at first sight. I had to take it home with me that very day. The piece I have is a reproduction on canvas of a painting by Juul -

Furniture

The couch and the coffee table are from All World Furniture in San Jose. They were perfect for the look I was going for, low seating, soft leather and the perfect color combination. The couch is actually a sectional, but I didn't like the look of the continuous piece, so I moved the corner piece to the other end of the side table to break it up. The console table was from Target (Exotic Retreat series) - great value for money and it fit in really well in my room.

Window Coverings

My favorite feature when we bought the house were the large glass doors leading to the patio. I didn't want to obscure the view with thick window panels. The solution - sheers. The colors accented the furniture beautifully. Also, having the sheers makes the room look larger as your eyes extend beyond the room to the patio. I did struggle a bit to find longer length shears, but Bed Bath & Beyond carries quite a few 96" panels.

Fireplace and other accessories

The fireplace tiles are from Porcelanosa. They create a cozy ambience and the tiles almost look like wood. The accessories have been collected over time. I was careful not to clutter the living room and keep the accessories to a minimum. I chose lamps that gave off a nice warm glow and kept the room feeling cozy and intimate.

If I had to summarize what I learned doing up this room -

* If you have a beautiful piece that is too small for a room, you can dress it up with similar pieces to create a brilliant focal point.

* Stay true to the feel you are trying to create. This should reflect in your color palette, accessories and especially in the lighting choices.

* Edit your room frequently. It is very easy to get carried away and put too many accessories which can get distracting. If you have a large collection you must display, swap out items regularly.

Hey there !

Hi, I am an Indian (Asian) living in California. Interior decoration is my passion. I enjoy cooking, entertaining and my latest hobby is sewing. This blog is about the various projects I work on to keep me creatively challenged and my quest to have an organized beautiful home. I hope you enjoy the Indian twist (and vibrance) that gets added to everything I do. I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment.
- Anuja